Juho Kusti Paasikivi

Juho Kusti Paasikivi (27 November 1870-14 December 1956) was Prime Minister of Finland from 27 May to 27 November 1918 (succeeding Pehr Evind Svinhufvud and preceding Lauri Ingman) and from 17 November 1944 to 9 March 1946 (succeeding Uhro Castren and preceding Mauno Pekkala), and President of Finland from 11 March 1946 to 1 March 1956 (succeeding Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim and preceding Urho Kekkonen). He was a member of the National Coalition Party.

Biography
Juho Kusti Paasikivi was born in Koski, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire in 1870, and he became a diplomat. As conservative Prime Minister from May to November 1917, he guided Finland to independence. He was subsequently the main proponent of cooperation and friendship with Russia and the Soviet Union, in contrast to Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim's confrontational stance. Whereas the ebullient Mannerheim led the country through the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War, and the Continuation War, each time Paasikivi quietly led the negotiations for peace at the end. Ultimately, as Prime Minister from 1944 to 1946 and President, he was able to impress upon the country his view that Finland could never maintain its sovereignty if it continued to entertain hostile relations with the USSR. His dogged policy of neutrality formed the cornerstone of Finnish politics until 1991. He retired in 1956, the same year as his death.